Introduction: Basic Photography Aspects

 "Candid". ISO 400, 1/100 sec @ f/8, Manual Mode. Canon 20D, Canon 17-85 mm lens at 83 mm.

Nowadays, there are countless people taking images everywhere. They post their pictures on the internet, publish it on blogs and sell their images to news and stock agencies. Every second person is in possession of some kind of camera, but not everyone is a photographer. Few people realize that there’s more to photography than aiming and pressing a button. 

Photography is both science and art. We have seen a lot of advances in the science of image capturing coming into the digital age. Yet, the age old principles of photography remain the same. Maybe our tools have become better and easier to use, but in essence nothing has really changed. We are still reliant on the science of capturing an image with light. Terms like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, have been around for donkey years now and are still as valid as 70 years ago. Even a thousand page manual will merely scratch the surface and even if you do come to terms with the science part of it; will you realize that the art of photography may be equally formidable. The one area depends on calculating correct exposures; the other area depends on being an artist. True photography, I believe, only happens when a person who understands the basic rules of these two different worlds release the shutter of a camera and captures an image. It is only when a person makes an informed decision about which exposure to set, and how to compose a picture, that he can truly call himself a photographer.

This is the first installment of a series of notes that covers the basic aspects of photography. My aim is to assist novices and advanced amateur photographers to improve their own knowledge and skills and reach a place where they are able to make informed decisions and use their cameras more creatively. For this reason, we will start out with the more technical aspects wherein I will attempt to assist you with matters like Exposure, White Balance, Focusing etc.. Therafter we will embark on a more creative journey, where I will discuss more artistic terms like Lighting, Composition, Creative Camera Techniques etc.

So, if you are starting out, or working on becoming a better photographer watch this space...